Madison Lion

- This lion overlooks the main entrance of the former James Madison Hotel in the 300 block of Norfolk Virginia's Granby Street. The building was recently converted to office space. Originally built as the Lynnhaven Hotel to accommodate visitors to the 1907 Jamestown Exposition it was renamed the Southland in the 1940's and then the Commodore Maury Hotel in the 1950's. It was one of Norfolk's premier luxury hotels when it opened. Renown American author and humorist Mark Twain stayed there on visits to Norfolk in 1907 and 1909. Canon 7D, 1/80 sec @ f/18.0, ISO 200, 350mm focal length.

Then & Now

- THEN - May 1940, 401 Monticello Avenue in Norfolk Virginia was home to Sears, Roebuck & Co. Sears occupied 110-112 Freemason Street around 1930 and in 1939 acquired the corner lot and built an expansion designed by noted Richmond architect Marcellus Wright. Sears remained in the buildings until they moved to 21st Street in the 1950's. The building was then home to the Nelco Department Store. Historic photo courtesy of Sargeant Memorial Collection – Norfolk Public Library.

- NOW - In the mid 1990's the City of Norfolk acquired the old Sears store and the adjoining former Rices Department Store at Freemason and Granby all which had been vacant for some years following the flight of retail from downtown to the suburbs. The City renovated all three buildings to create the Granby Municipal Building now home to the Bureau of Neighborhood Quality and Building Safety, and the Departments of Public Utilities and Information Technology. My office is the third floor corner office directly behind the street lamp globe in the center of the photo. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/500 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200.

Blues Armory

- The Blues Armory is a large brick armory in downtown Richmond, Virginia. Housing the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, the castle-like structure originally served multiple purposes, with a food market on the ground floor and a drill hall for the National Guard on the top floor. Completed in 1910, it was designed by the Washington, D.C. firm of Averill and Hall. The castellated design was not entirely whimsical, as the structure was designed to withstand attack during riots. The University of Richmond Spiders basketball team played home games in the Blues Armory from 1947 to 1950. The Nation Guard moved out in the 1960's and the building is mostly empty today. iPhone 4, 1/125 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

Details

This architectural detail is a terra cotta rosette located within a deep reveal at the central entrance to 130 W. 57th Street in New York City. Built in 1907-08 to provide living and working facilities for artists, the studio building at 130 West 57th Street is a rare surviving example of this unusual building type, and a reminder of the early twentieth century period when West 57th Street was a center of artistic activities. The Art Nouveau structure was designed by architects Pollard & Steinam and was home to American impressionist painter Childe Hassam and painter Irving Wiles. For over ten years the first floor retail space was home to New York's Planet Hollywood restaurant before it moved to the current Times Square location. Canon G11, 1/60 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 400.

Blue Sky Days

- Just spent six days in New York City and didn't have a single blue sky day for photography. Back in Norfolk for two days and complete cloudless blue skies both days. When there's a sky like this, you get the sun to your back and find something to take a picture of, in this case Norfolk's iconic Scope. iPhone 4, 1/340 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80, Camera+ App, Olloclip wide angle lens.

Resurgence

- One World Trade Center under construction in lower Manhattan as reflected in the glass of the the Millennium Hilton Hotel on Church Street. The building in the left of the refection is the new 7 World Trade Center completed in 2006. The building with the green dome on top is Two World Financial Center which survived the 9/11 attacks. The original World Trade Center one, the north tower, would have blocked the view of this building from this vantage point on Church Street. When complete in 2013, One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third-tallest building in the world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet. Canon 5D Mark II.

Temple of the Spirit

- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the cylindrical museum building, wider at the top than the bottom, was conceived as a "temple of the spirit" and is one of the 20th century's most important architectural landmarks. From the street, the building looks like a white ribbon curled into a cylindrical stack. Its appearance is in sharp contrast to typically rectangular Manhattan buildings that surround it, a fact relished by Wright, who claimed that his museum would make the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art "look like a Protestant barn." Canon 5D Mark II, 1/25 sec @ f/13, ISO 200, 24mm focal length converted to black & white in Lightroom 3.

Grand Central Terminal

- This is the Main Concourse in the center of Grand Central Terminal. The space is cavernous being almost as large as a football field. In the elaborately decorated astronomical ceiling the sky is backwards, and the stars are slightly displaced. It is said that when the Vanderbilt family learned the ceiling was painted backwards, they maintained that the ceiling reflected God's view of the sky. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/20 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 400, 8mm circular fisheye lens.

Atrium

- Looking up in the atrium in the brand new Lyman Beecher Brooks Library at Norfolk State University. The new libray opened this past January and is an amazing addition to the NSU campus. The architecture, technology and collection are all very impressive. I toured the facility with members of the City of Norfolk's Slover Memorial Library project just now getting underway. When it opens in late 2014, the Slover will bring state of the art library services back to downtown Norfolk. It's an exciting project to be a part of. iPhone 4, Olliclip fisheye lens withe Camera+ app.

Lion Facade

- This lion's head is part of the facade of one of the Victorian era buildings in the 100 block of Norfolk Virginia's Granby Street. These buildings are collectively referred to as "heritage row" and represent some of the oldest of Norfolk's remaining commercial buildings from the late 1800's. Similar neighboring buildings fronting Main Street were torn down in 2007 to make way for a hotel/convention center that never came about leaving a vacant fenced in lot on the site. The lot now referred to as "The Plot" is being converted into a pop-up park using shipping containers. That's progress, I guess. Canon G1X, 1/125 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 200, 60mm focal length.

Perpendicular Gothic

- The Freemason Street Baptist Church is one of three buildings in Norfolk Virginia designed by Thomas U. Walter who was famous for his design of the dome for the U.S. Capital Building. The church was completed in May 1850 in a revival of the style known as "Perpendicular Gothic." This Victorian period revival style was characterized by its reliance on decoration and ornamentation rather than structure. I made my first visit to the interior of the church today and was struck by its beauty. This photo shows the side aisle under the overhead gallery with the east facing stained glass windows. The large Gothic windows with the simple single colors is really unusual for a church of this period. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 50mm prime lens.

Cathedral of Commerce

- Built in 1907 the three-story, Beaux-Arts style Monticello Arcade forms a protected pedestrian passageway between City Hall Avenua and Plume Street in downtown Norfolk Virginia. Basically it's a 105 year old shopping mall. The recent economic conditions have reduced the tenants somewhat but the architecture alone is worth a walk through. Canon G11, 1/50 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, "HDR-ish" effect applied in Picasa version 3.9.

Night at The Wells

The Wells Theatre in Norfolk Virginia, opened on August 27, 1913. The poured-in-place, steel-reinforced concrete structure was technologically advanced for the period. The Wells' ornate decoration made the theatre the flagship of Wells Amusement Enterprises, and continues today as a well preserved example of Beaux-Arts Classicism, a National Historic Landmark and home to the Virginia Stage Company. Canon G11, 1/10 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400.

Bank Street

- I parked my car in the Bank Street garage in Norfolk Virginia and this view was straight in front of me. I saw this image in my mind and fortunately the capture delivered what I saw. I haven't thought of anything interesting or witty to say about the photo but there's something in it that I'm drawn to. I hope you like it. Canon G11, 1/200 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 400, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2 in Lightroom 3.

Pleasant Hall

- Pleasant Hall has been a constant in my neighborhood since 1769. Witness to the Revolutionary War and everything since, it now overlooks yet another rebuilding of the Kempsville - Princess Anne intersection. While everything around it has changed, and changed and is still changing this beautiful example of Georgian architecture remains the only constant. Another 365 project done. Canon G11, 1/125 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200, converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2 and Lightroom 3.

Not an Egg

- Tis is not an egg. It's the domed ceiling at the Landmark Theater in Richmond Virginia. " Formerly known as "The Mosque," the Landmark was constructed in 1926 by the Shriners as the ACCA Temple Shrine. The theater was designed in Moorish Revival style by Marcellus Wright, Sr. in association with Charles M. Robinson and Charles Custer Robinson. Canon 7D, 1/10sec @ f/3.5, ISO 800, 8mm fisheye lens.

Tabacco Company

- The atrium in the Tabacco Company restaurant in the Shockoe Slip area of Richmond Virginia. The old tabacco warehouse was converted into a fine restaurant and club over 30 years ago. The large brass chandelier came from the Federal Reserve Bank in Cincinnati while the antique Otis brass elevator on the right edge of the photo was made for the Con Edison building in New York. Canon G11, 1.0 sec @ f.3.2, ISO 100.

The Wells

The ornate decoration of the Wells Theater in Norfolk Virginia is a well preserved example of Beaux-Arts neoclassicism. The grand theater has been home to the Virginia Stage Company since 1980. iPhone 4, Camera+ app.

Temples of Finance

- Early in the Twentieth Century banks were designed as imposing structures to instill confidence with depositors. This is the Virginia Club (formerly Virginia Bank and Trust) Building located at the corner of Granby and Main streets in Norfolk Virginia. Today it is home to Trilogy Bistro, one of our favorite downtown restaurants, and the Virginia Club one of Norfolk's oldest private social clubs. Completed in 1909 the building is excellent example of Beaux-Arts neo-classicism; an eclectic mix of classical Greek and Roman forms. Here you can see one of the engaged Ionic columns and Doric pilasters on the east facing facade. Next time you are walking down Granby Street look closely at the architectural details of the remaining classic downtown buildings. Too many have been lost recently but this restoration is worth a dinner at Trilogy just to see the inside and have a great meal. Canon G11, 1/1600 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 100.

Shining Brow

"Shining Brow" is the literal translation of "Taliesin" the Welsh name Frank Lloyd Wright gave to his 1911 country home and studio in Southwest Wisconsin near Spring Green. Wright positioned the home on the "brow" of a hill, a favorite of his from childhood, rather than on the peak so that Taliesin would appear as though it arose naturally from the landscape. Canon 7D, 1/60 @ f/16, ISO 200.